Dubai & Abu Dhabi, 5 Nights

Met at Dubai International and driven to the hotel, with the day kept free until evening for the pool and the time difference, which is only an hour and a half. Then Downtown: the Dubai Mall, the Burj Khalifa's timed ticket to the 124th and 125th floors as the city lights come on, and the fountain on the lake below, which plays every half hour from six until eleven. Dinner on the promenade facing it. · Dubai · Airport transfer, about 30–45 minutes

Old Dubai in the morning: the coral-stone lanes and wind towers of Al Fahidi, the Al Shindagha waterfront where the ruling family lived by the creek, and an abra across the water to Deira for the spice souk and the gold souk. Lunch in Bur Dubai. The afternoon is free for the beach, the Dubai Frame or the Mall of the Emirates, and the evening can add a dhow dinner cruise at the Marina on request. · Dubai · Private vehicle, abra and on foot

A slow morning, then the 4x4 at around three for the desert an hour out of the city: tyres let down at the edge of the sand, half an hour of dune driving, and the camp for a camel ride, sandboarding, the sunset from the ridge, a barbecue buffet with vegetarian dishes marked, and the tanoura and fire shows after dark. Back by about nine. Dune driving is not suitable for pregnant women, children under three or anyone with a back condition; a flat drive to the camp is arranged instead. · Dubai · 4x4 pickup from the hotel, about 3 pm, back by about 9 pm

Out of Dubai past the Ras Al Khor sanctuary, where the hides on the creek look over the flamingo flocks from October to March, then the motorway south — about 130 kilometres, an hour and a quarter without traffic. Abu Dhabi first as the old town: Qasr Al Hosn, the whitewashed watchtower of the 1790s that the city grew around, and a walk on the Corniche with the Gulf on one side. Check in, and then the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for the last hour before sunset, when the marble courtyard and the pools turn gold and the domes are lit; the free access pass is booked online in your name, ankle-length loose clothing is required and women cover their hair — abayas are lent at the entrance. Dinner in the city. · Abu Dhabi · Private vehicle, about 1 hour 30 minutes plus stops

The BAPS Hindu Mandir first, on the Dubai road at Abu Mureikhah: the hand-carved pink sandstone and white marble temple opened in February 2024, open Tuesday to Sunday from nine (closed on Mondays), with your passport needed at the gate, no shorts or sleeveless tops, and bags left in the car. Then Saadiyat Island and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the galleries under Jean Nouvel's perforated dome that filters the light like a palm grove — closed on Mondays, which is why the two Abu Dhabi days are ordered as they are. The afternoon is Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace whose halls and library are open to visitors. A last evening on the Corniche; the mandir's evening aarti is an option for those who want to return. · Abu Dhabi · Private vehicle, full day

Breakfast and checkout. Flights to India leave from both airports — Zayed International is half an hour away and Dubai International about an hour and a half by road — and we book the transfer to whichever your ticket uses. With a late flight the morning can add Yas Island's waterfront or the Heritage Village on the Corniche breakwater before the drive. The Etihad Rail passenger line between Abu Dhabi and Dubai was due to open at the end of September 2026 at the time of writing; once it runs, the transfer between the two cities can be made by train on request. · Abu Dhabi · Airport transfer: Zayed International about 30 minutes, Dubai International about 1 hour 30 minutes